Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award

Commitment to Courage

Each year, the First Step Forum honors an individual who has demonstrated exceptional commitment and courage in advancing religious freedom and human rights with the Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award. This award celebrates those who embody the spirit of fearless advocacy.

Commitment to Courage

Rhoda Jatau Honored with 2026 Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award

GENEVA (October 16, 2026) – The First Step Forum has awarded the 2026 Shahbaz Bhatti Freedom Award to Rhoda Jatau, a Christian mother of five from Nigeria. Jatau was imprisoned for 19 months on blasphemy charges after sharing a video condemning the mob killing of Christian student Deborah Yakubu in 2022. Following sustained international advocacy, she was fully acquitted in Bauchi State in December 2024.

Presented at the Geneva Graduate Institute, the annual award recognizes individuals who demonstrate exceptional courage in defending freedom of religion and human rights. FSF Executive Director Marc Jost praised Jatau’s resilience: “When darkness demanded silence, your courage spoke volumes. You endured unjust imprisonment so that others might live free from fear.”

Who was Shahbaz Bhatti?

Clement Shahbaz Bhatti (September 9, 1968 – March 2, 2011) was a Pakistani politician and the first Christian Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs. He was elected as a member of the National Assembly in 2008 for the Pakistan People's Party. Bhatti became the only Christian member of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani's cabinet. On March 2, 2011, Bhatti was assassinated outside his mother's home by members of the Pakistani Taliban for his opposition to Pakistan's blasphemy laws.

A portrait of a man with dark hair, a mustache, wearing a suit, light-colored shirt, and a patterned tie against a plain background.

Previous Award Winners

Dr. Hany Hanna 2012

Valentin Hannan 2025

Pope Francis and three men in suits looking at a colorful document in a room with wooden bookshelves and a large painting.
A woman receiving an award or medal from a man in a gray suit, indoors with curtains in the background.

Aung San Suu Kyi 2013

A man in a suit with glasses shaking hands with a woman in colorful traditional African attire and headwrap, holding a framed certificate at an indoor event with other seated individuals in the background.
Asian man in a dark suit and tie sitting at a table, gesturing with his hands while speaking

Gao Zhisheng, China 2018

Two men shaking hands, one wearing a priest's collar and the other in a bishop's attire with a purple shirt and a cross necklace, standing in front of a green wall.

Bishop Shimoun Daniel, Syrien 2023

Leah Foundation accepting on behalf of Leah Sharibu, Nigeria 2019

Pope Francis 2014

Russell Stendal, Colombia 2017

Prof. Dr Malkhaz Songulashvili, 2015